The Princess and the Barmaid
by Infrared-Ultraviolet
Summary: It's just a job, nothing more than a dingy bar position meant to keep the cranky half-faerie afloat until she can scrounge up enough money to start the bakery she's always wanted. Natsuki doesn't think she can get out of there fast enough. But then one day, in a sweep of elven robes, SHE walks in... Natsuri, Fantasy AU. Rated T for strong language and overt sexual themes.
1. Part 1

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE PREVIEW PICTURE! IT BELONGS TO Rinmarugames AND PrinceofRedRoses ON DEVIANTART! I also do not own any of the characters. All I own is the storyline.**

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"Oi! You! Pixie!"

The loud, booming voice behind her made Natsuki start a little, glass of ale in her hand jerking slightly under the keg. She let out a small groan of annoyance, decidedly quiet enough that no one sitting at the bar could hear her.

"I'll be right with you!" she called out, putting on the best customer voice she could.

She finished pouring the glass and turned around to slide it across the counter to one of the regulars, a tired old man with scraggly gray hair and a long, grizzled beard. He gave her a brief nod of thanks, and she began walking over to the source of the voice.

It had come from a couple of burly men sitting at the corner of the bar, talking noisily about who won the latest gladiator fight or some other over-compensatory masculine bullshit, as well as rating the attractiveness of several of the women in the bar on the ever-so-familiar and ever-so-annoying 1-10 scale.

 _Oh, great. That's just great._

One of the men whistled as Natsuki walked over. She bristled, struggling to retain her cheerful smile.

"So what'll it be?" she asked, trying her best to sound nonchalant and keep the annoyance out of her voice.

One of the men whistled again, slightly more obnoxiously this time.

"Oi, look at that!" the other one said. His friend snickered. "She's even cuter up close!"

"How long you been around here, sweetheart?" the first man said, leaning over the counter and leering at her.

Whatever customer-pleasing façade Natsuki had been planning on putting on started to crack. Her fists clenched at her sides, and her expression shifted into a deep scowl.

" _Don't_ call me that," she said through clenched teeth. "And I'm _not_ cute!"

They both ooed, and the first man hooted. "Oh, she's a _feisty_ faerie!"

Natsuki looked disdainfully down at one of the pink pigtails swishing back and forth at the side of her head. Of course. Of course, being born part faerie and she _couldn't_ inherit the lacy butterfly wings, or any of the magic powers. No, she just _had_ to inherit the bright, flashy hair that could readily be picked out of any human crowd, like a blaring horn announcing her (often unwelcome) presence.

Not that she minded the color in particular. It was kind of a nice shade of candy pink, she thought. She just wished it didn't single her out so easily.

"I beg to differ, tuts," the second man said. "You're _adorable._ "

He unexpectedly reached out a meaty hand and cupped her chin between thick fingers, forcing her face up to look at him. Her mouth twisted in disgust and she backed away.

"Can I _help_ you with anything?" she hissed, fists at her sides starting to shake.

"Sure, give me the strongest thing you got, tuts." The first man said. He leaned even further over the bar, his putrid breath starting to blow puffs in her face.

"Not as strong as my game last night!" The other man made a circle with his finger and thumb and stuck his other finger through it. His friend hooted.

Natsuki winced. It was an impressive feat to be both _that_ cringeworthy and disgusting at the same time, but this man had somehow done it. "Come on…do you really have to do that here?" she growled.

The first man gasped in mock horror. "Careful, you might ruin her innocence!" he mocked.

"Yeah, what's a sweet little thing like you doing serving big kid drinks in a place like this?" the other man added.

"Yeh, what are ya, 14?" the first man crowed. They both laughed again.

"Wha—?" Natsuki clenched her teeth. "What the hell? _I'm 18!_ "

"Oh, so she _is_ legal!" The second man reached out and grabbed hold of the end of her pigtail, beginning to twirl it around his finger. "Oh, the things I would do to that pretty faerie hair if I got hold of you alone…" he muttered, half to himself.

 _Okay, that's the last straw!_

Natsuki lifted her hand and pushed the man's hand away with such intense force that even he seemed alarmed by it. " _Hey!_ What the hell is your _problem? Knock it off!_ "

The first man snorted. "Or what? You'll kick us out?"

"Yeah, all 70 pounds of you?" the other added mockingly.

Natsuki sputtered angrily for a few seconds, unsure of how to respond.

"I'll…I'll get my manager!" she finally settled on.

"What, Ol' Swinsey?" The first man let out a deep, throaty laugh. "He's not gonna kick up a fuss about us jus' looking at the newest _snack_ he has for sale. We've been coming here for ages."

Natsuki squared her shoulders and stood up as straight as she could, looming over the two men as much as a 4'11 girl could.

"So? You think that gives you a free pass to treat me however you like? I'm not a piece of meat!"

The second man snorted. "Sweetheart, you're a _barmaid_. If you didn't want men noticin' you, you should've taken a job somewhere else."

Natsuki bristled, hands trembling with rage as she grabbed the edge of the bar in an attempt not to explode.

 _There were no other jobs available in town, you piece of shit! You think I_ wanted _to work here?_

"Yeah, I'm the _bartender,_ " she growled finally. "Which means I'm paid to _serve you drinks_ , not be a piece of ass to suit any creep's fancy. But go ahead and eye-fuck me if you want, I won't be able to stop you. I guess you're used to settling for that, since that's all you'll ever get from _any_ sane girl, I imagine," she added slyly, smirking.

It was the two men's turn to bristle furiously. "W—what?!" the first one sputtered.

Natsuki laughed dryly. "Oh, I bet the girls just come _running_ when they catch wind of the lovely aroma of cow shit! Or maybe it's the obnoxious loud-mouthed drivel that draws them in."

The two men briefly exchanged a confused glance before smiling proudly.

"It's both!" the first one boomed, evidently not picking up on her sarcasm.

"I'm sure," Natsuki said scathingly. She turned to the man who hadn't ordered yet, frowning and letting out a resigned sigh.

"So do you want anything?"

"I'll 'ave what 'e's 'aving," he said, pointing to his friend with his thumb.

"Okay, I'll get that for you," she said, taking care to omit the usual friendly "as soon as I can" that she usually added on the end for most of her customers.

As she turned and walked away, she heard the two men hoot and holler and shout a flurry of lewd comments after her about the shape of her ass. She sucked in her breath, struggling to keep her composure as she let out a long, irritated grunt and rolled her eyes as far back as they would go.

 _One of these days, I'm going to beat the shit out of one of those types of guys on pure adrenaline._

Okay, maybe not, but that's what she had to tell herself to calm the buzzing anger in her mind. Really, it was a wonder she had kept this job for so long without murdering anyone.

She made her way to the back room and purposely took her time as she wandered through the kegs and barrels, muttering to herself as she scanned the labels on each.

"Stupid pricks…think I'm just some bimbo faerie girl…I'll show them!"

"Difficult customers?"

The voice behind her made her start slightly. She opened her mouth to snap, but her shoulders slumped in relief once she realized who it was.

"Sayori!" She turned around and smiled weakly at her friend before her face fell back into a scowl again. "Yeah, a couple of lewd assholes kept making all these cracks about wanting to fuck me. Like…like I'm just an ass and a pair of tits or something. Just… _ugh!_ " She grabbed the edge of a barrel, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"Oh wow, I'm sorry." Sayori screwed up her face in sympathy. "Sometimes people here are the _worst._ "

"Tell me about it!" Natsuki threw her arms up in the air. "Just…" She sighed wearily. "Sometimes I don't even know if it's all worth it. I've been here putting up with this crap for _months,_ and I still don't even have _close_ to enough to start a bakery. Sometimes I feel like I'm gonna be stuck here serving creeps forever."

"Hey, it'll be okay Natsuki!" Sayori put a hand on her shoulder. "You'll get there, I promise! You just gotta keep going and _never give up,_ even when stuff sucks! Because one of these days, everyone's gonna be flocking to your shop for their morning teacakes, and you can charge the jerks that try hitting on you extra." Sayori grinned slyly.

Natsuki smiled gratefully at her. Sayori always had such a can-do attitude about everything, something Natsuki wished she could have. She had always admired that about the peach-haired girl.

"Damn right, they will!" she replied, straightening with confidence. "My teacakes are gonna be _so_ good that everyone who's ever picked on me in this dumb town is gonna _beg_ me for forgiveness so they can have one!"

"Yeah! That's the spirit!" Sayori pumped her fist in the air.

" _Yeah!_ " Natsuki copied the gesture, caught up in her friend's enthusiasm for a moment before her face returned to an annoyed scowl, her arms crossing almost of their own accord.

"But I have no idea how I'm going to survive this crap long enough to _get_ to that point," she muttered.

Blue eyes softened in sympathy. "Hey, tell you what," Sayori said gently. "You seem pretty aggravated, so why don't you take a break for a little while and I'll get those two big jerks their drinks?"

"You'd do that for me?" Natsuki's eyes widened. "But…Sayori, if I took a break you'd have to mind the whole bar!"

"That's all right, I can manage!" Sayori flashed one of her signature confident, sunshiney grins. "They don't call me 'Sayori the Bar Queen' for nothing!"

Natsuki narrowed her eyes. "No one calls you that."

"That's not true!" Sayori pouted defiantly. " _I_ call me that!"

Natsuki smirked. "Yeah, I'm not sure that counts."

"Does too!" She let out a disappointed huff, but didn't seem to want to argue about it for any length of time. "What did those two guys want to drink, anyway?"

"Said 'give us the strongest stuff you got.'" Natsuki rolled her eyes. "Typical 'tough guy' bullshit."

"Oh, that doesn't surprise me. I'll bet they think that makes them look _so_ manly." Sayori giggled, and Natsuki joined in. "Anyway, I'll take care of them. You just sit back and relax for a while. I'd say you deserve it."

"Thank you, Sayori." Natsuki smiled gratefully at her friend again. Sayori waved goodbye to her before disappearing into the front room. Natsuki leaned up against a nearby keg and slowly exhaled.

 _This is going to be a long day, I can already tell._

Even after she finished her break, Natsuki figured that with her luck, the two beefy men would still be hunched over the bar, readying themselves to throw perverted comments at her as soon as she walked their way.

She roamed the back room and made careful notes in her mind of the location of every possible barrel of gin, tonic, rum, wine, or beer, as she often did during her breaks. Knowing the exact location of every drink the tavern had to offer meant faster service, and faster service meant a better tip.

As usual, it didn't take long for her to grow antsy and bored after trekking along the same pathways and passing all of the blandly familiar spots in the maze of kegs (in the months she had been here, she had learned every corner and facet of this drafty room far better than she ever would have liked to). After several minutes that felt more like a stretch of dragging eternities, she cautiously peeked out into the front room of the tavern, taking care to open the door as little as she could.

She let out a breath of relief upon realizing that the two burly men were no longer sitting at the bar. She crept out and leaned up against the bar counter, surveying the beginnings of the afternoon lunch rush.

She wrinkled her nose slightly as she realized that the odor of the two men still lingered in the air. Either they left a stench wherever they went, or they were still in the tavern somewhere. Natsuki hoped it was the former, even if it meant she would have to give the countertop a more vigorous cleaning than usual before she went home today.

Her eyes fixed lazily on the tavern door, watching with a sort of detached curiosity as people slipped in and out. It wasn't anything particularly enrapturing, just the usuals coming in for an afternoon meal or a drink and the occasional traveler burdened with packs hauling their bags in to buy a room for the night. Nonetheless, it was enough to keep Natsuki's tired mind entertained enough to where she didn't start to fidget again.

She found the monotony of it all was causing her eyelids to slowly drift shut, her arms sliding haphazardly to the side on the polished wood as her head slumped down onto them. The din of voices and the quiet, distant clatter of dishes lulled her into a sense of peace, her body feeling light and heavy at the same time as she slipped seamlessly into the peculiar, suspended state of being half-awake and half-dreaming.

And that was about when _she_ walked in.

Natsuki's disjoined, increasingly incoherent thoughts would've written the moment off as a bizarre half-dream, had it not jerked her awake so forcefully that she stumbled backward and nearly fell flat on her back behind the bar.

The newcomer was glowing like a full moon. Well, not literally, but she may as well have been.

Formidably tall with slightly-pointed ears, her skin was pale and bright, seeming to shine like white moonlight wherever the light hit it. Her hair spilled down to her waist in long, glossy deep violet tendrils, curling slightly at the ends into dozens of delicate crescents. Her dress swept out behind her in a silken flutter, white underskirt billowing serenely around a perfectly-curved set of hips as she walked. The sky-blue of the silk was accented with heavy gold plates at the chest, waist, and shoulders, as well as elegant white armbands.

What was most striking (if Natsuki could even pick a single thing) were the vibrant, gleaming amethysts embedded impeccably into some of the gold accents or the one hanging from her necklace in an exquisite rich purple prism.

They went perfectly with her eyes. Eyes that Natsuki only managed to get a brief glance of but that were, to her way of thinking, the exact color of wisteria flowers and the most gorgeous shade of lavender she had ever seen.

The newcomer was, for lack of a better word, completely and unapologetically stunning.

This was also notably the first time Natsuki had ever seen a real, live elf in person—and elven royalty at that, if the multitude of gemstones were anything to go by.

Natsuki did the only natural thing there was to do and shot down behind the bar as quickly as possible. She sat with her back pressed up against the wood and her slender arms hugging her knees, an involuntary alarmed squeak escaping her as she hit the floor.

 _Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod_

She had some sort of elven princess—an _elven princess_ —in _her_ tavern, mere feet away sitting down at one of _her_ tables and probably ordering a plate of food that was going to be served from _her_ kitchens. A graceful figure the likes of which Natsuki had only ever seen dancing across the delicately-painted pages of her fairy tale books was sitting a few paces away from her, _in the flesh_. A mystical being woven into tales and folklore and always seeming more like an abstract concept or an idea than an actual person had not only found her way into a reality as a living, breathing person, but had found her way into _Natsuki's very tavern._

And she was blindingly gorgeous, to top it off.

Natsuki slowly let out her breath. It was all a lot to process right now.

 _Oh god, if she doesn't like the food or drinks, does she have the legal authority to order all of our heads to be cut off? If she buys a room and there's bedbugs, could she do an incantation that would curse everyone in here with 10 years of bad luck or something? What if I go over to her to take her order but I'm so nervous that I puke on her and then she throws me in her dungeon? What if she sees me and thinks I'm tiny and pathetic and dumb and worthless and—_

 _Wait_. Natsuki ground her rushing thoughts to a halt, stopping them in their tracks before the loud cacophony of fretting voices became too overpowering.

 _Me? Nervous?_ She snorted aloud at the mere idea. _Never!_

Besides, why was she getting so worked up over what some random lady thought of her? Granted, a very _pretty_ lady who gave off a distinct air of importance (but not arrogance, no, anything but that—if anything, Natsuki got the impression this lady hadn't the faintest clue how important she was) and whose every movement was as graceful and mesmerizing like water spilling from the top of a fountain in sweeping, flawless cascades _but_ still a random lady nonetheless.

Natsuki groaned, fingers working on one of the oak boards of the floor. Suddenly, the diamond-patterned black-and-red harlequin-esque barmaid outfit seemed very anticlimactic and puerile by comparison. The thought of the elf princess turning her nose up in disgust at the silly faerie girl in pink pigtails only made her hunch further into the counter.

"Natsuki?" She looked up at the sound of Sayori's puzzled voice. "What are you doing down there?"

Natsuki gave her friend a wide-eyed look. "Sayori, there is an _elf princess_ in our tavern!" she hissed. "Like…right there! At that table at the front of the bar! What do we do?"

"Well…we serve her?" Sayori smirked a little. "Like everyone else?"

Natsuki shook her head urgently. "No, no, you don't understand! What if…what if she thinks our food is terrible and she tells everyone important all across the land and then no one ever comes here again and then we look really bad? Or what if…what if she gets _so_ mad that she…she…I don't know, she pulls out a staff and shoots us all with plasma beams or something?"

"I don't think she'd do any of that," Sayori said calmly, responding by looking slightly confused. "She seems nice."

"Oh, _she seems nice,_ " Natsuki mocked, rolling her eyes. "What do you know about her, anyway? Besides, she is _way_ too important to be eating in our pub! Like, how the hell are we supposed to impress her when we're a couple of grimy kids and she looks like she fell off of Mount Olympus or something?!"

" _Impress_ her?" Sayori suddenly broke out into a full-on smirk. "Who said anything about wanting to impress her, Natsuki? She may be a fancy queen lady, but she's just another customer. I don't think it'd be very fair to give her special treatment, would it?"

"Nnnnnngh!" Natsuki gritted her teeth in frustration. "Are you _nuts?_ She's a _princess!_ If we don't give her the best service of the century, all she's gotta do is tell some important people that we suck and they'll shut us down! Besides, imagine having to live the rest of our lives knowing the only thing significant we ever did was disappoint a beautiful princess…" she added in a mutter.

Sayori shrugged. "I don't think you need to stress out too much over it. I mean, I've heard that kings and dukes and nobles have stayed here passing through, and they didn't demand gold chips on their ice cream or a big elaborate breakfast in bed or anything. Usually if you come here after trekking all the way from castles and stuff, all you really need to be satisfied is a nice hot home-cooked meal."

"How would _you_ know?" Natsuki grumbled.

"Well, if you're all tired out and hungry from walking on the road all day, you're not really gonna have the energy to be snobby, right? You're just gonna be happy to get something to eat!"

Well, when Sayori said it like _that_ , the reasoning seemed so simple and logical that Natsuki wondered what had ever compelled her to think otherwise. The pink-haired girl let out a defeated grunt, refusing to give her friend the satisfaction of admitting aloud that she might have been wrong.

"Come on, Natsuki, you worry too much!" Sayori reached out a hand to help her up. "She's not gonna hate us if we don't completely bend over backwards trying to impress her."

"But she's so…pretty…" Natsuki gingerly took Sayori's hand and slowly rose up, anxiously peeking over the top of the bar counter at the table where the elven lady was sitting. Unfortunately, she still looked as unreasonably gorgeous and quietly intimidating as the last time Natsuki had seen her a few minutes ago.

Sayori smirked again. "Well, _now_ it just sounds like you _want_ to impress her."

" _Hey!_ " Natsuki crossed her arms and glared at her. "I was _not_ planning on going over and sucking up to her, if _that's_ what you think!" She made a face. "Who voluntarily sucks up? _Gross!_ I'm not gonna give her _any_ special treatment if I don't have to," she added meaningfully, sticking her nose in the air.

"Oh no, I wasn't implying you were gonna suck up at all!" Sayori's eyes widened guiltily for a second before she looked away, tapping her pointer fingers together. "It just sounded like…maybe you _like_ her."

" _What?!_ " The blood flew into Natsuki's cheeks, and her face turned red-hot. " _What the hell, Sayori?!_ What reason would I have—I mean, why would I be _stupid_ enough to go…to go chasing after some beautiful royal elf lady who would probably think I'm pathetic anyway and probably isn't even going to be in town that long? What makes you think I'm that _dumb?_ I mean…"

Natsuki's eyes widened, suddenly worried she had said too much. "Not that I would _care_ if she thought I was pathetic or anything," she added meaningfully.

"Suuuuure." Sayori sounded thoroughly unconvinced, much to Natsuki's annoyance.

"What? I _wouldn't!_ She's just some random princess from like a million miles away. Once she leaves I'll probably never see her again. I don't care what she thinks of me!"

"All right, all right!" Sayori held her hands up in surrender. "Well hey…" Her blue eyes glinted with sudden eagerness. "You're still on break, y'know. Why don't you go talk to her and find out who she is?"

Natsuki's cheeks turned as red as the ribbons in her hair as she envisioned herself attempting to make conversation with the ethereal lady and making a complete fool of herself in her utter inability to know how to behave in such a situation. Were peasants even allowed to just go up and talk to queens or princesses or whatever, or did you need to have a warrant or something?

"Are you _kidding?! No way_ am I doing that!"

"But aren't you curious about her, though?" Sayori prodded. "I mean…elven royalty! _That's_ not something you see in your tavern every day. Where'd she come from?"

Natsuki let out a small, defeated sigh, looking almost longingly in the elven woman's direction. "Of…of course I'm curious about her. I just…well, what if I get so nervous that I accidentally say something really stupid? Or _do_ something really stupid?"

"Nervous?" Sayori raised her eyebrows teasingly. "I thought you said you didn't care what she thought of you! Why would you be nervous, then?"

Natsuki let out a frustrated groan. Sayori was really much more perceptive than she let on, and sometimes Natsuki couldn't stand it.

"Fine, _fine,_ maybe I lied a little bit about…that part. I mean…she's a _princess!_ She could probably order someone to cut my head off, so I guess I have to care about what she thinks of me to _some_ extent. I just…" She bit her lip. "I've never been around someone that important before. It'd be walking on thin ice. I mean…you _know_ I'm not always the best at keeping my thoughts to myself." She rolled her eyes and let out a groan. "I mean…what if I accidentally say something really offensive?"

Sayori shrugged. "Okay, if you're really that nervous, I'll go talk to her when you take over working the bar and I'll tell you—"

Natsuki found herself unexpectedly filling up with an oddly intense bout of jealousy at the thought of _Sayori_ getting to talk to this lovely elf lady while she didn't. "Wha— _hey!_ That's not fair at all!"

"Oh?" Sayori singsonged. She clasped her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth. "Whatever happened to 'I'm too scared because what if I mess up?'"

Natsuki spluttered for a few seconds, trying to think how to adequately respond. "W—well, I mean—that's not—I'm not _scared_ enough to just cower back here like a wimp while _you_ get to have all the fun!" she snapped out finally, crossing her arms. She stuck her nose up high in the air in protest. "Here, I'll show you I'm not too scared to talk to her _right now!_ "

She started marching defiantly around the edge of the bar, slowing slightly when it dawned on her what she had just so brashly agreed to do. To her dismay, Sayori made no move to try to stop her, instead nodding enthusiastically with an "okay!" and motioning for her to keep walking. Natsuki gave her friend one last audacious look before starting toward the elf woman's table.

 _Well, I guess no backing out now._

Her footsteps grew more and more hesitant as she neared the royal lady's table, her stomach making itself into more and more of an elaborate, nausea-filled maze the closer she got. The lady was, unfortunately, even more unobtainably beautiful and seemed even more frostily unapproachable the closer she got.

 _Ah, fantastic, what have you gotten yourself into this time, Natsuki?_

* * *

 **WELL HELLO THERE FRIENDS**

 **GUESS WHO DUN WENT AND GOT A NEW FANDOM?**

 **…I blame my friend. He was all like "heeeeey, come play this crazy dating sim! It'll be great memes!" And suddenly BOOM not only do I have a brand-new fandom, but I also have a new OTP COMPLETELY AGAINST MY WILL, I MIGHT ADD**

 **Like ugh, I didn't ask for this, I have too many fanfics waiting in my mental queue already! D:**

 **Lol fun fact, I was originally not really planning on writing any Natsuri fanfic. In fact, I was originally pretty unsure about the Natsuri ship in general (mainly because Yuri turns into such an actual psychopath in Act 2 and I'm not sure I trust her and her knives to be good to my poor girl Natsuki), but the more aesthetically-pleasing pics I saw of them together and the more fanfic I dabbled in and the more posts I read explaining how they could actually fit together, the more I started to legit like it. And then**

 **AND THEN**

 **I watched a playthrough of CykaDev's Doki Doki New Eyes mod and that pretty much cemented it because Yuri and Natsuki are HELLA FUCKIN GAY in that mod, I don't care what anyone else says**

 **(Yeah yeah I know that New Eyes isn't technically canon, but it's close enough to count in my books, dummy! *glares in Natsuki*)**

 **So ANYWAY**

 **Even after I was like "Okay I legit ship this" I still wasn't really planning on working them into my fanfic agenda BUT THEN**

 **One day I was dicking around and putting off doing schoolwork and my life was forever blessed/ruined when I stumbled upon the infinite black hole of addiction that is RinmaruGames**

 **So naturally, the first thing I did was immediately pump out as many pictures of my ships as I could make in one sitting, completely shirking my academic responsibilities so I could make far, far, FAR too many shipping pics XD (Don't worry, I did still pass my classes!)**

 **Aaaaaaand unfortunately, my dumb overactive imagination started getting all kinds of story ideas from the pics I made on a freaking dress-up game AS IF I NEED ANY MORE FANFICTION THAT I FEEL THE BURNING NEED TO WRITE, BUDDY**

 **(The inverse relationship between the fanfiction ideas I have and the time I have to write said ideas is an ISSUE, believe me)**

 **So, as you might expect, once Natsuri ascended to OTP status, I started making pics of them as well and started getting fanfic ideas from said pics**

 **…and this is a pic inspired by one such pic XD**

 **So Rinamrugames had this one fantasy-themed coloring page, and I thought it would be fun to make Natsuki and Yuri on it. And it kinda got me curious as to what Natsuki and Yuri and their relationship would look like in a DnD-esque fantasy AU. I really liked the idea of Natsuki being part-faerie, since she's energetic and smol and spirited and can also be pretty mean sometimes XD (Obviously I mean human-sized faeries here, can you imagine how awkward it would be if she was like tinkerbell-sized and still hitting on Yuri? XD) And it only made sense for Yuri to be an elf, considering she's the classy and formal one who's also kinda quiet and super tall. I feel like she'd be some kind of royalty too, being as refined as she is. Anyhow, I made the picture and then the story dun kind of formed itself and before you know it BOOM I have a multi-thousand word fanfiction XD**

 **(Also this is lowkey what happens when you're obsessed with DDLC and Natsuri and have also been playing WAY too much DnD)**

 **I had far too much fun writing Natsuki's extremely long and elaborate and incredibly gay initial description of Yuri XD**

 **Also I adore writing Sayori/Natsuki friendship :D They're definitely a hardcore BroTP! I think they're a cute romantic pairing too, although I prefer NatsukixYuri and SayorixMC. Sayori is also honestly a total troll, so I can definitely see her being a super supportive friend to Natsuki while simultaneously giving her no end of shit about her approach/avoidance tsundere-ing and her painfully obvious gay crush XD**

 **I was hoping to get this entire fic submitted before the end of pride month, but it ended up taking WAY longer to write than I thought, so that's not happening XD But…at least I got the first part in before the end of pride month! That counts for something…right? Anyhow, the next part(s) will be in…at some point. For once, I don't honestly know what my submission schedule will look like. The fic's mostly done at this point, but I've got a couple other things going on in my personal life I need to focus on before I finish it up. It's only a 2 or 3-part story, so the uncertainty will not be an issue for too long, trust me! Hopefully it won't take long to get the next part it…1 or 2 weeks from now is what I would guess.**


	2. Part 2

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE PREVIEW PICTURE! IT BELONGS TO Rinmarugames AND PrinceofRedRoses ON DEVIANTART! I also do not own any of the characters. All I own is the storyline.**

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"Uh…hey." Natsuki leaned up against the table with one hand, trying to look as relaxed and nonchalant as possible.

 _Wow, great start, Natsuki. Utterly brilliant._

The woman put down the mug of whatever she was drinking—probably some type of wine, she looked far too sophisticated to settle for the typical ale the regulars got—and looked up. Natsuki caught her breath a little, anxiously biting her lip.

On closer inspection, she was younger than she had looked from a distance. She had a wide-eyed, youthful look to her face, despite the refined look of her clothing. Her features were soft and rounded and her skin was smooth and polished, not worn by age even slightly by any wrinkles or moles.

In fact, she looked about the same age as Natsuki herself. Well, the same age in elf years, anyway. Which, given their incredibly weird aging scale, meant she was probably…roughly 150.

"O—oh, hello." Her voice was soft and timid, like she was worried she would offend someone if she spoke too loud. There was the slightest hint of puzzlement in those lovely lilac eyes, like she couldn't quite believe someone was talking to her.

 _She's probably not used to being approached by peasants, but she's trying to be polite._ Natsuki bristled, suddenly feeling even more embarrassed.

"I haven't seen you around before," Natsuki said, struggling to keep her voice from shaking as she steadily held a cheerful grin. "You're not from around here, are you?"

 _Okay, so far so good. I haven't said anything_ profoundly _stupid yet._

She shook her head, smiling meekly. "Oh, no, I'm just passing through. I've been roaming for a while now."

Natsuki raised her eyebrows, curiosity piqued. "Oh, really? Where are you from?" The elf girl seemed to squirm uncomfortably at this, abruptly refusing to meet her eyes.

 _Oh god, I fucked up, I fucked up. Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ Natsuki wanted to smack herself.

"I—if that's not a personal question or anything," she added quickly. "I know that's kinda—well, you know, not everyone wants to share that or whatever. You're just, uh…you're just a lot more nicely-dressed than the people I _usually_ see in town is all, so I was kind of curious. We don't usually get anyone that fancy."

To Natsuki's relief, the elf girl seemed to perk up slightly at the compliment. "Oh, no, no, it's not personal at all!" she assured her quickly. "I come from Elthyria."

Elthyria…well, that would explain a lot. The neighboring kingdom of Elthyria was known for its fog-covered, mystical landscape and the reserved and mysterious elf population, always sweeping soundlessly about in long, flowing robes and giving off an aura of intimidation to any strangers in the land who ventured a little closer than they'd like.

Everyone knew the elves of Elthyria were not ones to be messed with. But this one…

She seemed…different, somehow. Different from all the tales and legends labeling the elves as daunting, cold, and distant.

"I guess I _do_ stick out a bit, don't I?" The elf girl looked down and gave her flowing blue dress an uncertain look, and Natsuki instantly felt a bit guilty.

"Hey, it's not a bad thing!" she assured her quickly. "I think you look nice!"

"R—really?" The elf girl blushed deeply, smiling shyly. "W—well, thank you."

Something in Natsuki's heart seemed to flutter, and she immediately chastised herself. _Oh my god, stop being an idiot!_

"Can, I, um…" Natsuki bit her lip. "Can I ask what your name is?"

 _You look famous. I've probably heard of you._ Natsuki thought better than to actually say it. She figured it was less insulting to pretend she had been living under a rock and had no idea who this lady was than to say she looked familiar and Natsuki just couldn't quite recognize her.

She was probably some stately well-known noblewoman who everyone and their mother knew about, and as of right now Natsuki had to admit she hadn't the faintest clue who she could be. Best not to make that known.

"Oh, sure, of course!" The elf girl nodded eagerly. "I am Princess Yurimira of Northern Elthyria."

 _Princess!_ Natsuki's eyes widened. _So I was right._

The weight of the title came crashing down on her in full force, reminding her why she had been so hesitant to talk to this elven lady in the first place. She ducked into a hasty bow, hoping her nervousness didn't make her movements too sloppy and uncoordinated. "Y—your majesty—"

"Oh no, you don't need to do that." The elven girl waved her hand dismissively, face flushing with embarrassment as she hastily looked away. "I've never much liked those…formal titles. They…other me, in a way. They make me feel different. Like everyone's keeping me at a distance. And I feel alone. N—not that you knew!" she added hurriedly as Natsuki opened her mouth to apologize. "I know you were just trying to address me properly and not be disrespectful. But please don't worry yourself over it. I prefer to just be called Yuri."

"Okay…Yuri," Natsuki said, testing the name out. It felt like too short and simple a name for a princess, but it set her mind at ease. The fact that the violet-haired girl seemed to want to treat her as an equal was already making Natsuki feel more relaxed.

"So how did someone like you you come to be in a dumpy little village like Shimmercross, out of anyone's way?" Natsuki smiled teasingly, hoping the words had not come across too harsh.

"Oh, well…" Yuri fiddled with her hair anxiously, as if the question had caught her off-guard. "When I came of age, my parents sent me off to travel around the kingdom and get acquainted with the land I'll be ruling over and my future subjects. And the neighboring kingdoms as well, so I could meet up with some foreign diplomats. I've been roaming Elthyria and the surrounding lands for the last year or so, and I guess my path led me into your village."

"Wow." Natsuki's eyes widened. Being _asked_ by her parents to travel all around and explore the furthest corners of the land, all while probably getting free room and board wherever she went on account of being a wealthy princess? It sounded perfect.

Worlds above having to scrounge together a collection of measly wages just to struggle to get from one small village to the next, anyway. Natsuki wasn't even sure she'd even make it as far as the nearest big city in her lifetime, with her financial luck.

"Well…how's it been?" she asked.

"Well…" Yuri looked away, anxiously twirling some long hair between her fingers again. "It's been…kind of scary. Being in all these new places, being around so many strangers…it's a lot to take in. I think unfamiliar situations are always a little scary to me." She smiled weakly. "Just…being around a lot of people in general is kind of scary. There weren't a whole lot of people in my castle growing up, just my parents and the servants and I. These bustling cities and towns I've been going through are…definitely not what I've always been used to."

"Oh." Natsuki's shoulders sagged with disappointment. Yuri didn't sound nearly as enthused about her travels as Natsuki was hoping. "But I mean…it's _kind_ of exciting, right? Seeing all these new places?"

"Well, I _do_ get to see places that I've only ever read about in my books, which is an amazing experience." Yuri's smile widened. "I get to experience all these settings in a completely new way that's much different than anything I've felt or encountered before. So that at least has been wonderful. But the problem is that when I've had my fill of a place or it's completely exhausted me, I can't just close a book and return to the comfort of my room." She chuckled, and Natsuki smiled.

"Would you like to sit down?" Yuri pulled out the stool next to her. "I don't imagine it's comfortable, standing there like that. I just ordered some lunch, and I wouldn't mind sharing some if you'd like. Th—that is!" She cut herself off suddenly, looking embarrassed. "I—if you don't have any work you need to get back to…"

Natsuki apprehensively glanced back and forth between Sayori, still standing behind the bar, and the stool. The peach-haired girl grinned widely at her, gesturing almost aggressively for her to sit down.

"Eh, I'm off for a little while," she said with a shrug. She sat down and scooted in, resting her arms on the wood of the table as she let out a breath.

"So Yuri…what's it like to be a princess? I've always wondered if your life is as perfect as the fairy tales make it out to be." She turned and gave the elf girl a wry smile. "It seems like it would be nice, though, being important like that from the moment you're born. Never really feeling invisible or unnoticed, like you're just some nobody who could disappear into any crowd and no one would realize they were gone."

"I'm more alone than you might think." Yuri smiled sadly. Natsuki perked up, interest piqued again.

"Spending my childhood shut away in my castle, well…I was lonely a lot of the time. My parents always seemed to be too busy with their royal duties to make time for me, and the servants had this…formal relationship with me, always keeping me at arm's length. Like they felt like they couldn't get too close to me. Most of the time, I had to rely on my books to keep me company. The characters in them were my best friends growing up. Even now…" She looked away. "Even now, being out in the world, it hasn't gotten a whole lot better. I'm so unfamiliar with people that it's hard to talk to them. And I feel that because of my position, others find me too intimidating to approach and speak with. And in a twist of irony, I suppose, I'm also too daunted to approach them as well because I feel they'll be on their guard around me. It's very lonely."

Natsuki was suddenly very glad she had swallowed up her fear and gone and talked to Yuri.

"Wow." Natsuki furrowed her brow in sympathy. "I had no idea princesses have to go through that. I'm sorry that kind of thing happens to you, Yuri. I know all about loneliness, believe me."

"Wh—what am I saying?" Yuri rapidly tried to hide her blush behind a curtain of purple hair. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to complain so much! Please don't think I'm that negative of a person! I'm sorry, we just met, I know you don't want to hear about all of my problems." She let out what sounded like an anxious whimper. "Not like I have many grounds to complain, anyhow. I know I was born into more privilege than most, and I'm very fortunate to have ended up in that position. I've always been well-cared for, and I always have gold coins to spend on my travels and enough to eat. My life is secure, if nothing else. I should be more grateful for that."

"Ah, don't worry about it." Natsuki waved a hand dismissively. "We all need to vent sometimes. And hey, just because you're rich doesn't mean your life is all happy and perfect all the time. You can still be sad about stuff, or feel alone. Don't let _anyone_ tell you you can't have problems or that you're not allowed to feel bad sometimes just because of where you happened to be born! You can't help that! Everyone's suffering is valid." Natsuki reached out and put a hand on Yuri's briefly, giving her a look that was almost stern.

"And that's coming from someone who's basically been living off of pennies for the last several month," she added teasingly.

Yuri smiled softly. "Thank you, that…that means a lot. But I don't…I don't feel I deserve such kind words from someone whose name I don't even know. May I ask your name?"

Natsuki's chest warmed unexpectedly at the small gesture. So this elven princess, who was probably far more important than she would ever be in her life, wanted to know who she was as well.

"Oh, it's Natsuki. Just Natsuki." She grinned wryly. "No fancy titles there, unfortunately."

"Believe me, they're not worth the distress."

Yuri laughed again. Natsuki found that she was becoming fonder and fonder of that laugh. It was as timid and subdued as her personality, but had almost a soft musical cadence woven in, like someone gently plucking at the strings of a harp or quietly playing the flute.

"Well, Natsuki, I don't believe I properly answered your question. I guess I don't really know _how_ to, since I have nothing to compare being a princess to. But it's…strange, at times, knowing one day I'll be responsible for the lives of so many people I'll never even meet. Sometimes it makes me so anxious I can barely hold myself together, but…" She took a breath. "I'm determined to be the best possible ruler I can one day and do anything I need to to keep all my people happy. I only want the best for everyone in my care."

"That's…" Natsuki smiled wistfully. "That's really noble of you. I think Northern Elthyria is lucky to have you as their princess."

"D—don't say things like that!" Yuri blushed, looking away and starting to fiddle with her hair again. "I—I'm sure anyone else in my position would feel the same. Anyway…" She turned back and gave Natsuki a small smile. "Enough about my story. I think I'd like to hear yours. After all, it's not every day you get to meet a half-faerie."

"O—oh…" Natsuki grabbed a clump of bright pink hair and looked disparagingly at it. During her conversation with Yuri, she had forgotten for a second about the blaring marker that was attached to her wherever she went.

She wasn't used to people taking an interest in her fae roots, unless it was to make a derogatory comment. People either ignored it completely, seeming too uncomfortable to ask, or openly mocked her about it.

"I—I'm sorry!" Yuri's eyes widened guiltily. "I didn't mean it in a derisive or insulting way, I promise. I'm so sorry if it came across as racist in some fashion. I'm merely curious as to where you're from. I haven't met very many half-fair folk on my travels. I understand they're not a race that typically likes to marry outside their own people, so meeting someone who came from such a marriage seems to me like it would be an interesting and enriching experience."

Upon seeing Natsuki's bewildered expression, Yuri buried her face in her hands. "Oh, I made it worse, didn't I?"

Natsuki snapped out of her surprised daze, blinking a few times. "No, no!" she said quickly. "It's not an offensive thing to notice or anything. I'm just not really used to being asked about it. People either don't care, or knowing I'm a half-blood is enough for them to want me gone and they really don't care about the specifics of it." She laughed dryly. Yuri looked up and gave her a sympathetic look.

"Anyways, I'm not really used to sharing, but I don't mind or anything," Natsuki went on.

In fact, if she was honest, she relished the opportunity to talk about herself. It wasn't an opportunity she got very often, except sometimes with Sayori. People in general didn't seem to much care about the personal life of the odd, short half-faerie girl who did nothing but do odd jobs and pick fights with strangers.

"I grew up in the Emerald Glades, the faerie realm" she said. "My mom was a faerie, my dad was a human. My mom, she…she died when I was really little, though, so I don't remember much about her. The other faeries let us stay there after that because of dad's marriage link to mom and because I was half-faerie, but I don't think either of us were ever that welcome there. You'd be surprised how mean pretty little pink-winged faeries can be."

"Oh, Natsuki. I'm sorry."

Natsuki automatically bristled at the pity laced into her voice, but something about how soft and sincere it sounded quelled her annoyance.

"Yeah, it wasn't fun," she admitted, laughing sardonically again. "Kids at school would always pick on me, call me 'half-breed' and 'wingless' and stuff like that. As if I was any happier about that stuff than they were!" She groaned, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I'd _say_ it was cool, growing up in a fairy realm in the middle of this lush forest where I got to see magic all the time, buuuuut no one there really seemed to like me, which put a damper on the whole experience."

"So how did you end up here, then?" Yuri asked. "The Emerald Glades are at least three weeks' travel from here, if I'm not mistaken."

"Ah, we're getting there!" Natsuki chuckled. "So I was always nagging my dad and trying to get him to move, right? You'd think it would be easy. He got his fair share of nasty looks and shit-talking behind his back, what with being the only human and all. But _nope_ , he was too busy blowing our money on his dumb expensive magical fae liquor and trying to sleep with every faerie lady in the realm to be concerned about any of _my_ issues."

"But I found a way to get by. I didn't really have friends, so I spent a lot of time alone in the forest, picking cute flowers and befriending wildcats." She grinned proudly as Yuri's eyes widened at the mention of wildcats. "Or baking cupcakes with what little stuff we had in the house to try and win the neighbors over. Or watching people do magic. From a distance, anyway."

"Do you not have any of your own?" Yuri asked.

"Nope!" Natsuki grinned, shrugging. "Seriously, can you believe that? I just have to inherit the flashy, garish hair but I don't get any of the good stuff."

"Well…I think your hair is pretty," Yuri offered shyly. "I've always thought faerie hair was beautiful. And yours is an especially nice shade. It…it reminds me of hydrangeas."

Despite herself, Natsuki felt her cheeks start to grow red-hot. "Th—thanks."

"But I am truly sorry for what you experienced," Yuri added. "No one deserves to feel alone."

"Eh. I managed." Natsuki shrugged, trying her best to downplay the whole affair. "Some of the people I brought cupcakes to started to like me a bit more, so _that_ was something, I guess. And my dad was easy enough to avoid until…well…"

She went quiet for a few seconds, and Yuri tentatively reached over and put a hand on top of hers.

"Until what?"

Natsuki took a deep breath. When she stopped and thought about it, she realized she hadn't talked about this to anyone before. Not even Sayori.

 _Well, now's as good a time as any._

It would be nice to get it off her chest, she supposed.

"So…remember how my dad kept trying to seduce every faerie lady he could find? Well…you can probably guess he didn't have much luck. Most faeries think humans are really gross and ugly." She laughed softly. "So…he got rejected a lot. And trust me, most of the time it wasn't too pretty. And he just got so…so _angry_ about it. There was no one else in the village who he really had any power over, so he took it all out on me." She took another breath. "When he got turned down, he'd buy a lunch of liquor and start downing it until he was super, super drunk. And then he'd come storming into my room and yell at me for ages. Just start belittling me for whatever he could think of."

Upon seeing Yuri's horrified expression, she waved a hand dismissively. " _That_ I could stomach. A loud voice is just a loud voice. Anyhow, I'd just yell right back until he stopped. Spent years doing that. Why do you think I'm so loud?" She grinned widely before her expression darkened again.

"But I dunno…once I reached a certain age, like maybe 10 or so, I guess I started standing up for myself a little more forcefully than I used to. I'd throw his insults right back at him. I'd completely had it with his stupid bullying by that point. Just telling him to leave me alone wasn't enough anymore. Maybe…" Natsuki hesitated slightly, worrying how the next part would make her sound.

"Maybe it's fucked up, but I _wanted_ him to suffer like I did. I _wanted_ him to feel the same pain I'd felt all those years. So I started digging into him the same way he was doing to me. But he…he didn't like that I was _really_ fighting back for the first time. He didn't like that one bit. So he…" She took another breath. "He started to hit me. Punch me, kick me, slam me against walls and choke me…" She shuddered at the memory. "I guess he knew a 10-year-old kid couldn't put up much of a physical fight, even if I could put up a verbal one."

Yuri's eyes darkened, and her hands slowly curled into fists, fingernails working on the wood like claws. "He wouldn't…"

"He did," Natsuki growled. "He took all his anger out on me because I was the only one in the whole village who…couldn't really fight back. Who never had any way of truly coming out on top. And he wanted to keep it that way in any way that he could. I think…I think he just wanted to feel like he was in control of _someone._ "

"Couldn't you tell someone?" Yuri asked, eyes steadily growing wider and wider with horror.

Natsuki scoffed. "Like who? Even the leaders of the village disliked us for being part-human. If I told anyone, all that would happen is I'd become the newest gossip of the realm. 'Oh, did you hear? The half-breed's father _beats_ her! Humans really _are_ disgusting, aren't they?' But no one would actually try and do anything to _stop_ it. That's _way_ too much effort to put in for a half-human." She stuck out her tongue in mock disgust. "Not like they'd want to do anything to stop it, anyway. Not when it was basically confirming everything they already believed about humans."

"I can't believe them," Yuri hissed, fists tightening. "They'd just leave you to suffer? What horrible people!"

"Yeah, I grew up not expecting much help from them," Natsuki admitted. "But the yelling and the insults, that…that I could take. I learned how to stomach it. But once he started beating me…" She started down at the table. "Just…ugh, I really hate admitting this. It makes me look like _such_ a wimp. You won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, will you?"

It seemed odd to Natsuki, being so readily vulnerable and revealing such a humiliating part of her life to a near-stranger. But something about Yuri's presence made her feel so comfortable and at ease that letting such painful things out to her felt more like a soothing relief than anything, like cold water running over a burn would.

Yuri shook her head vigorously. "Of course not, Natsuki!"

"Okay, well…" Natsuki kept her eyes fixed on the table. "It kind of scared me. I fought back the best I could and I managed to defend myself before he did anything too serious, but…I always kind of worried he was going to lose control and go all-out and…well, _kill_ me. I didn't feel safe anymore, as much as I hated admitting to myself that he had the power to do that if he wanted to."

"Oh, Natsuki…" Yuri placed a hand on her shoulder, gazing into her eyes sympathetically. Natsuki felt her skin warm pleasantly at the elven girl's touch, but her face also began to flush with embarrassment.

"Well, I knew I had to get out of there," Natsuki said nonchalantly, eager to get off of the topic of her being a weakling. "When I was 12, I started working all kinds of odd jobs to earn money. It wasn't easy to find anyone in town who really wanted to hire me, but I was willing to take practically anything for a handful of gold or silver coins. It took a long-ass time, but eventually I scrounged up enough money to buy the supplies to travel on the road for a little while and have enough to scrape by for a few days in the first town I arrived in. And—oh!"

She was abruptly distracted by Sayori skipping to their table, carrying an enormous wooden platter of bread loaves and roast meat. "Ah! The food's here!" Yuri said brightly.

"You ladies enjoyyyyy!" Sayori singsonged. She shot Natsuki a lingering smirk, and she glared at her friend in return.

"Want anything to drink, Natsuki?" Although Sayori had on her best, friendly customer voice, her smirk only widened as she looked down at her friend.

"Uh…sure. Just get me an ale." Natsuki was intent on sending Sayori away as soon as possible, before Yuri made the connection between her presence and the peach-haired girl's simpering expression.

To Natsuki's relief, Sayori turned and danced away without another word, humming a tune to herself.

Natsuki let her eyes trail hungrily over the crisp, fragrant loaves of bread, the enormous roast chicken, and the tavern's signature mutton leg wrapped tightly in freshly-cooked bacon. The last item was a staple dish of rowdy dwarves and bellowing workmen alike, but it was hardly the thing she would have expected a princess of high standing to order for lunch. Natsuki was certainly not one to judge, though.

"Whoa." She felt her mouth start to water. "That's a lot of food."

"Oh, I always order more than I need so I have some left over to take for the road," Yuri admitted. "But I'm more than happy to share. I can get some for my travels later."

"Hey, I'm not gonna say no to that." Natsuki hurriedly picked up the enormous bacon-mutton-leg and sunk her teeth into the greasy delight.

"That's one of the perks of working here," she said between mouthfuls. "Free lunch!"

Yuri smiled as she began daintily slicing herself a piece of roast chicken with the (otherwise rarely used) silverware that had been provided.

"So anyway…you were saying you gathered enough materials to make it to the next town over and spend a few days there," Yuri prompted.

"Oh! Right!" Natsuki continued the story in between ongoing eager bites. "Well, I worked my ass off and finally got all the money I needed to make it on my own, and I ran away. I mean, I'll be honest…it kind of sucked leaving the magical faerie forest, as you could guess. Especially since it was all I had ever known. But I needed to get away."

Yuri nodded. "I understand completely."

"So I kind of just traveled along the road until the next town, and then I stopped and tried to find work. I ended up doing a series of odd jobs again to get by because no one seemed to want to hire me for long. Some rumor going around about faeries being fickle or cruel, or always playing tricks."

She let out a frustrated groan as she continued chewing a large bite of bacon.

"Well, I didn't really like the instability of having to job-hop all the time, and people in that town were kind of dicks anyway. So I saved up my money again and I kept going. But it was the same thing, every single town. No one wanted to hire me for long and no one seemed to like or trust me much. So I kept moving around. And then I stumbled on Shimmercross." Natsuki grinned wryly. "It might seem weird, but this barmaid job is the longest one I've ever had. It finally feels like I'm one step closer to doing what I _actually_ wanted to do," she added.

"Oh? What's that?" Yuri regarded her curiously.

"I want to open my own bakery!" Natsuki explained excitedly. "Baking was always kind of my sanctuary growing up, especially since there often wasn't a lot else to do at home. It's always so much fun to put a bunch of love into making something awesome that you can _eat!_ It really allows for a lot of freedom and creativity if you know what the hell you're doing. And I want people to _pay_ me to do it!" She cackled maniacally, rubbing her hands together.

"Oh, you're a baker!" Yuri regarded her curiously. "Is any of this bread yours, then?"

"Maybe." Natsuki shrugged. "When there's a bit of a lull at the bar, I like to go in the back and help the cooks with the baking, so it's possible. Is it good?"

Yuri picked up the nearest flour-dusted loaf and took a bite of the end, the end crackling pleasantly as she bit into it. She chewed for a few moments before nodding thoughtfully. "It's excellent."

"Then yes, yes it is." Natsuki smirked.

Yuri raised her eyebrows, confused for a second before smiling slyly back. "Devious, Natsuki."

"Well, what can I say?" Her smirk widened. "This place's bread game would be _nothing_ without _my_ help!"

Yuri picked up the loaf and took another bite. "So, other than truly incredible bread, what's your favorite thing to bake?"

"Oh, that would have to be cupcakes!" Natsuki answered giddily. "There's just so much you can do with that cute little swirl of icing on the top! All different types of textures, all different colors or mixes of colors, all kinds of sprinkles and stuff to decorate with…there's just a lot you can do. And if you're feeling adventurous, you can even try making them into some crazy shape!" She grinned. "And there's also a lot of freedom in how big or small you want to make them, or how many you want. So you can't go wrong with cupcakes, really."

"It sounds very enjoyable." Yuri nodded, smiling. She cleared her throat, looking suddenly self-conscious. "Well, Natsuki…I wish you only the best of luck starting your bakery. I'm sure it will be a lovely place. And I am truly sorry that so many people you've met have had such unfortunate misgivings about faeries."

"Ah, don't apologize for that." Natsuki waved a hand, laughing nonchalantly. "It's just life, you know? Anyhow, when they all come crawling to my bakery to grovel on their knees for my baked goods, I'll have the last laugh!" She cackled again, eyes shining mischievously.

"I'm sure you will!" Yuri agreed. "With the vigor and passion of someone like you, I can't see you doing anything but succeeding."

"Thank you, I'm glad you think so!" Natsuki puffed her chest out, swelling with pride.

"Well, Natsuki…" Yuri looked her up and down, as if making a final assessment. "You seem to be a very determined, interesting, competent, and kind young lady, and it seems you have a lot going for you. It's certainly been a pleasure to make your acquaintance! But…" The elven girl fidgeted slightly, looking suddenly uncomfortable. Natsuki felt her stomach drop, sensing something very unpleasant was about to happen. _Oh no…_

"There _is_ one more thing I've found myself growing curious about. I—if it would be all right for me to ask…" She trailed off, playing nervously with a strand of hair.

"No, no, go ahead!" Natsuki waved a hand dismissively, smiling broadly to try to cover up her clenching stomach. "Ask away. I don't mind sharing."

"W—well…" Yuri still wouldn't meet her eyes. "I—I'm sure you're aware that half-faeries are rather rare, as far as mixed-races go. I've always heard the fae tend to prefer to marry only within their own race, to keep faerie bloodlines pure and to make them unique and distinct from other races. So I can't help but wonder…would you perhaps be willing to share the story of how your parents met? And came to have a child together?"

At hearing her request, Natsuki let out an almost-involuntary scoff. "Sure, but it's not nearly as romantic as you're probably hoping, I'll tell you that."

Yuri's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she quickly tried to conceal herself behind a curtain of purple hair again. "I—I'm sorry! I didn't mean to touch on a sore place for you. If it's something you're unhappy or uncomfortable discussing, you certainly don't have to."

Natsuki shrugged. She had to admit, there were certainly worse things Yuri could have asked about. Something insensitive or offensive to faeries, namely, although Natsuki noticed Yuri had been doing a pretty good job skirting around saying anything like that so far.

Miraculously, unlike most people Natsuki met, it was almost like Yuri didn't have any preconceived notions about faeries that affected how she treated them—even if only a little bit. The only other person Natsuki had ever met like that was Sayori.

It was a refreshing change of pace. Something that made Natsuki much more comfortable than she probably should've been sharing the more personal parts of her life with this near-stranger.

"No, it's all right," she said. Her smile shrunk slightly, but she kept it on. "It's not a big deal to share it or anything. It doesn't bother me. Just…just don't get your hopes up, is all."

* * *

 **HELLO FRIENDS, HERE IS PART 2**

 **Sorry for the slight wait!**

 **This story definitely dun getting finished, but it just took a bit to figure how to divide it all up. Also, I keep remembering all these scenes I originally planned to have in the story and then forgot about and having to add them in XD**

 **ANYWAYS NOW WE GET TO THE GOOD STUFF**

 **HELL YEAH, NATSUKI X YURI FLUFF BITCHES**

 **This is mostly going to be a "talking" fic, if you couldn't already tell. Not a whole lot of action, just a bunch of Nat and Yuri talking about their respective fantasy AU lives and being cute. If that tickles your fancy, you've come to the right place!**

 **They're mostly just sharing their backstories here, but don't worry, they're gonna bond hella over that!**

 **(Yes I did use a fantasy village name generator to come up with Shimmercross, I'm sorry)**

 **Before you get on my case like "wot, Natsuki so OOC here, why no tsundere enough?" I…honestly don't think she has much reason to get defensive and be tsundere, since Yuri is being super careful to be sensitive and not say something offensive. Also, I generally see Natsuki as being more insecure and defensive when she feels attacked rather than just plain mean. Sure, she has a short fuse, but Yuri doesn't really hit any of her pressure points here, luckily. That, and the two main things that set her off are feeling like she's being talked down to or feeling like her interests are being insulted, neither of which Yuri does. So thus, not much in the way of tsuntsun here! It also helps that Yuri is a powerful princess who it would be a bad idea to be openly rude to and Natsuki is inclined to be a bit nicer and less abrasive than usual because of her hopeless lesbian crush XD (Anyhow this Natsuki is more based off of Act 4 Natsuki, who was a little less rude and abrasive anyway.) But don't worry, I still did my best to make Natsuki the lovely insecure, strong-willed, energetic, and slightly-socially-oblivious cupcake we all know and love!**

 **Also Sayori and her shit-giving ways continue to be one of my favorite aspects of writing this XD Best Girl is also Best Troll!**

 **Stay tuned for Part 3, otherwise known as Be Prepared To Hate Natsuki's Dad Even More Than You Already Do! Coming soon to a account near you!**


	3. Part 3

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE PREVIEW PICTURE! IT BELONGS TO Rinmarugames AND PrinceofRedRoses ON DEVIANTART! I also do not own any of the characters. All I own is the storyline.**

* * *

"All right." Yuri nodded sincerely, leaning forward and drawing her full attention to Natsuki.

"So…the truth is…" Natsuki smiled guiltily. "Even _I_ don't know the full story here. My mom died when I was little, so all I remember about her version that she told me is just a handful of stuff mixed in with all these other blurry memories from when I was really young. And I could never get much on it out of my dad. He didn't like to talk much. Well, actually…" She laughed dryly. "Come to think of it, I think he just didn't like to talk much with _me_. I think he always thought I was kind of a nuisance."

"Oh, Natsuki." Yuri's face softened in sympathy, and she reached across the table to grab Natsuki's hand again (not that Natsuki minded this one bit). "I'm so sorry."

"Ah." Natsuki grinned nonchalantly, trying to brush the statement off like it was no big deal. "Don't worry too much about it. All that stuff's _waaaaaay_ in the past! Anyways, I was only able to get vague, nondescript stuff from my dad, and I can barely remember what my mom told me. The rest of the story I had to piece together myself by getting bits and pieces from the faerie gossip around town. A human and a faerie intermarrying is pretty unheard of, like you said, so you can imagine people were still talking about it years later. Lucky for me!" Her grin widened. "Anyway, after a while I finally pieced together a story that I think was as close to the truth as I was going to get. It made sense to me, anyway. I…" She fiddled with a pigtail. "I'm not absolutely sure this is 100% the true story, but it's as close as you're gonna get."

"I'll take it." Yuri gave her a small smile.

"So…my mom was one of the forest fae, as you could probably guess from me growing up in the Emerald Glades and all. My dad was this kid who lived in a farming village right outside the forest. One day, when he's somewhere in his teens—16 or so, maybe?—he's out walking in the forest to collect berries or cut down trees for firewood or something—I don't know exactly what he was doing out there, but I guess it doesn't matter. He's walking along, and he sees this girl about his age with this bright pink hair and lacy light pink wings just kinda perched in a tree. But all that isn't really what caught his attention about her." Natsuki smirked a little, and Yuri's eyes widened curiously.

"You see, my dad had…been around the block a few times in his village. He'd basically cycled through every girl in town at that point, getting them wrapped around his finger long enough to sleep with them and then moving on to the next one." She made a face. "He could be…rather charming when he wanted to be. When he could get something out of it. And faeries, they're supposed to be…well…" Natsuki's face turned bright red.

She found she expected the refined elf princess to get equally, if not even more, flustered at the implied subject matter, but instead Yuri broke into an uncharacteristic full-out smirk.

"Amazing at sex?" Her voice had barely changed from its usual quiet timidness, having only the slightest teasing undertone. "Come on Natsuki, I may have grown up isolated in a castle, but I don't live under a rock. I know the legends."

"Right, yeah." Natsuki grinned meekly, slightly embarrassed she had underestimated the elven princess's willingness to talk about the subject. "Well, anyway, he sees this faerie girl sitting in a tree, and he knows enough about faeries through village tales and such to know that the older ones are clever and cunning, and they're likely to screw you over and play cruel tricks on you if you try to mess with them. But, see, my mom was just young enough that my dad figured she probably wasn't clever _or_ cunning just yet. Faerie ladies might learn how to be crafty once they reach a certain age, but until then, they're just like any other kid…impressionable, optimistic, naïve, the like. I think there's a certain…universality in the kinda…ditzy gullibility of teenage girls, no matter the face."

"Right." Yuri nodded. "They're inexperienced. Intelligence and wisdom often grow through life experience, which I would imagine is why adult faeries are generally the ones who live up to their reputation of being incredibly clever."

"Exactly. And hey, I'll take that as half a compliment!" Natsuki grinned. Hey, she was half-faerie and 18 years old, so a technical adult. It _sort_ of applied to her.

"Anyhow, my dad saw her, and I guess he figured this might be his only chance to bang an actual faerie without something terrible happening to him later on. One of the few faeries he could get away with manipulating and get off scot-free because she wouldn't be any more capable of planning life-ruining revenge than all the other girls whose hearts he'd broken."

Natsuki let out a deep sigh. "And…lemme tell you, he was _way_ more right about her than he deserved to be. The whole thing worked like a dream. He worked his charms on her, and in no time she was all over him, just like all the others. My mom was about as naïve and innocent as they come I guess, because it barely took anything for her to fall in love with him."

"So he manipulated her." Yuri's eyes slowly darkened as the realization washed over her. "He used her for sex."

"More or less." Natsuki shrugged, giving the taller girl a resigned look. "He knew just how to flatter her to get her to sleep with him. He'd done it loads of times before. And I guess the sex really _was_ as great as he'd always heard it was supposed to be, because he kept sneaking out into the forest to sleep with her again and again. All under the guise of being in love with her." She spat bitterly, fingernails grinding deeply into the wood table.

Her hands relaxed slightly, and she sighed again. "And…well…one thing lead to another, I guess, and one day my mom got pregnant. My dad's plan had always been bail as soon as possible if that ever happened, but it wasn't quite that easy, considering faeries have an ancient law stating if you get a girl pregnant, you have to marry her and move to her home realm." She smirked widely.

"So what happened?" Yuri asked, eyes wide with interest.

"Well, ironically enough, he was actually okay with it. I mean, it was the best sex he'd ever had, and now he got like…a shitton more of it. Plus, he got to live in a faerie realm. Win-win!" Natsuki grimaced. "Not to mention all the other glorious faerie pussy he got to try and get in the Emerald Glades, considering my mom was too far gone in love to leave him, or even really call out anything he did. Yeah, things were looking pretty great for my dad after he got my mom pregnant. Too bad the actual kid was kind of an inconvenience, though."

Yuri's hands slowly curled into fists, her eyes beginning to storm with a quiet rage. "What an absolutely sickening person."

"Hey, I ran away from that asshole for a reason." Natsuki smiled weakly. "He was a shit person, to be sure, but he's in the past now, and that's all that matters. Anyways, there you have it. That's how my parents met and had a kid; because my mom was naïve and my dad was a dick."

"I—if I may ask, Natsuki…" Yuri rubbed the back of her head anxiously. "And you certainly don't have to answer if you don't wish to speak of the matter for fear it triggers bad memories, but…how did your mother pass away? I remember you said she died when you were very young."

"Murdered." Natsuki's eyes darkened at the memory. "People talked. Everyone gossiped about us. No one really approved of the abomination of a faerie who had fallen in love with and _mated_ with a human male. Most were content to just mock and sneer and shun us, but that wasn't enough for one of the traditionalist village elders. She thought my mother deserved to die for what she considered 'treachery' against the faerie people, and making our bloodline 'impure.'"

Angry tears began to well up in Natsuki's eyes. "What we had in the way of authorities claimed to never find out who did it. I think they knew it was her, but they turned a blind eye."

Yuri evenly met Natsuki's rosy gaze with her own lilac, reaching across the table and gently cupping both of the smaller girl's hands in her own.

"Natsuki, I am truly sorry. I am so, so sorry you had to go through that, and from what I know about you I can say with reasonable confidence that you deserve far better."

The blood rushed to Natsuki's cheeks again, but she forced a wry smile. "Yeah, well…I guess life doesn't much care about what we do and don't deserve, does it?"

There was a moment of silence as Yuri contemplated the statement. Despite the heavy subject matter, Natsuki found her mind was fixated fully on whether or not Yuri could feel her shaking underneath her, or whether Yuri could feel the sweat leaking from her hands like oil from the bottom of a lamp.

"No, I suppose not," Yuri said finally. "But the things that happened to you were terrible and unfair nonetheless. However, I truly believe that you have a bright future ahead of you, and your life will improve vastly from here, now that you are in control of your own fate and out of that toxic situation."

Natsuki rolled her eyes, although she was smiling. "Hah, what are you, a fortune teller?"

"I—I'm sorry!" Yuri tore her gaze away, staring at the table. "I didn't mean—I mean, I wasn't—I wasn't trying to sound pretentious, or full of myself. I only wanted to help you feel better."

Natsuki's cheeks reddened. She bit her lip, suddenly feeling guilty.

"H—hey, it's okay! I was only teasing you. I'm just not, uh…" She rubbed the back of her head, grinning meekly. "Not used to people trying to be so, er… _optimistic_ about my situation. Most people are like 'wow, rough life you've had there, but you've got to be an evil charlatan bitch so you probably deserve it anyway.'"

She tried to roll her eyes light-heartedly, but it ended in her sighing resignedly and staring down at the table. Yuri put out a hand and rested it on her arm.

" _No one_ deserves to go through what you experienced, least of all someone already battling negative stereotypes plaguing their race. Your path has been harder than most, and unfairly so. Furthermore, I know many individuals who would have completely broken under your circumstances. And yet here you are, building yourself up again and carrying on." She looked up in time to see Yuri break into a radiant smile. "You're stronger than you know, Natsuki."

Natsuki's blush deepened, and fixed her eyes intently on the table again. "Th—thank you, Yuri. That's uh…one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me, to be totally honest."

"Well, it's something you ought to hear. I'd like to give you a probably much-welcome change; you've been through some hard things, to be sure. Although…in one way, I must admit I do envy you."

It was Yuri's turn to look hurriedly away, hand still resting on Natsuki's arm stiffening in sudden embarrassment.

Natsuki looked at her skeptically, trying to figure out what part of her trainwreck of a life would be at all appealing to an erudite elven princess. "What's that?"

"Well…that is to say…"

Yuri removed her hand from Natsuki's arm (much to the half-faerie girl's disappointment, though she'd never admit it) and used it to slide a few strands of long purple hair between her fingers.

"I've heard tales in my own books and while traveling on the road, and faerie literature is supposed to be exquisitely beautiful. The way the books paint vivid pictures in your mind is supposed to be unlike anything else you've ever experienced. I've always wanted to see some for myself, but from what I hear, the faerie authors are quite protective of it—completely interlace it with enchantments and tricks to make it almost wholly inaccessible to outsiders. It rarely is ever even able to leave the faerie realms, I hear. But to have all of that nearby growing up…"

Yuri let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes.

"It must have been wonderful. I imagine you had some sort of accessible library in the Emerald Glades, correct?"

Natsuki froze, entire body suddenly burning with mortification.

 _Oh, she had to go and ask about_ that _…_

The half-faerie should have seen it coming. Yuri liked to read, faeries were known for their literature, Natsuki had spent a large portion of her life living amongst faeries…

Still, she had been hoping that she could somehow avoid this topic of conversation.

"Ah, well…I did, but…"

Yuri gazed at her expectantly as she hesitated, and Natsuki winced.

 _Oh god, she's going to think I'm some kind of dense, uneducated idiot or something. So much for impressing her with acting smart._

Natsuki bit her lip. No, the more she had talked to Yuri, the more she had figured that was a stupid way to try and impress her. Yuri was an intellectual, a well-read sophisticate, and Natsuki could only hide who she truly was for so long.

And as soon as Yuri realized the shorter girl wasn't on her level, she was sure to turn her nose up at her. How pathetic was Natsuki going to seem?

"Yeah, there, uh…there was a library nearby. But I never read much."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"The thing is…" Natsuki still couldn't bring herself to meet the beautiful woman's eyes. "In the faerie realms, education isn't really…the easiest to get for everyone. Like everyone gets some basic schooling, but after a certain point it's only really available for the elite and people with a lot of money. And for a half-faerie with a broke father…well, there was basically no chance of me getting to go past even the super rudimentary stuff. So the truth is…I can't actually, um…read all that well."

Yuri's eyes widened, looking suddenly taken aback. "Oh, Natsuki…"

"Please." Natsuki bristled, suddenly feeling defensive. "I don't want your pity. Seriously."

It was Yuri's turn to look embarrassed. "W—well, I guess I just thought…I mean, it _is_ kind of a shame, but it makes sense you wouldn't want me to make a lot of it, and…"

 _Make me feel pathetic?_ Natsuki mentally finished. Yuri looked away, seeming to read what she was thinking.

"You know…" Her voice was quieter than normal when she spoke again. "If you would like, I could always help to—"

"Hey Tuts!"

Natsuki froze, feeling a cold chill abruptly wash over her. _Oh no, not them…_

The scent of an uncleaned barnyard rapidly approaching behind her informed her that she could only escape from the unappealing parts of her job for so long. The two obnoxious men from earlier were, in fact, still here.

 _Ugh, don't you have some prophecy-spouting old beggars to go bully or something?_

Nope, they were back to continue making her regret not only her job in this pub, but her very existence itself. And in front of _Princess Yurimira_ , of all people…

She turned to face them, eyes already burning with a defiant fire. They clomped to a stop and ogled her again, snickering to themselves as they eyed her up and down.

They took another step closer to where they were looming over her, their forms casting huge shadows over the table like mountain boulders. A foreign sensation washed over Natsuki, and suddenly they were no longer just rude customers separated from her by a thick bar counter.

They were right in front of her, separated by nothing and towering over her like ancient, ominous castle spires about to come crashing down onto her any second. They were looking down at her with the same disgusted and patronizing look you might give to a piece of vermin that snuck into your house through an open back door. The muscles in their well-built forms rippled and twisted, like they were threatening to pop out of their owner and slither down onto the table toward her at any second. Like they were preparing to strike. They seemed more and more like…

 _My father…_

And now it was anyone's guess what they were going to do.

* * *

 **YOOOOO HELLO AGAIN! Sorry about the wait! I got pretty busy with my summer internship and was also working on my other fanfic plus a writing class, so unfortunately I didn't have much time to write on this D:**

 **BUT HERE IS PART 3 YAY**

 **If you beat your kid for reading manga and starve them you're pretty much an irredeemable piece of shit imo, so I had no qualms with not portraying Natsuki's dad favorably at all here. And I was like hey, he's a shitty person already…what if I made him even worse? What if I made people hate him even MORE? A lot of fanfics have him have the one redeeming trait that he DID love Natsuki's mom (who presumably died or left him, which is why he hates that Natsuki reminds him of her), but I wasn't even going to give the fucker that XD Meet Dadsuki, a horndog and serial cheater who plays with women's feelings for fun! Purposely made him the least-sympathetic Casanova-type I possibly can. I mean, I tend to hate Casanova characters with a burning passion anyway, because if you get off on taking advantage of the feelings of naïve girls then you're a sick fuck. But I decided to dial that up to 11 here to really show how awful this kind of person is.**

 **I guess I DID dial down Natsuki's temper a bit in this, since I had her be more understanding of Yuri's awkward slip-ups instead of automatically assuming the worst about what she's saying. Again, this is Act 4 Natsuki, so she's a bit more chill and a little more patient than Act 2 and Act 1 Natsuki. I really do feel like Natsuki would be a lot more patient and caring with Yuri if she didn't feel like she was being attacked in some way. We do only really see her get mad at Yuri when she thinks she was calling her poem crappy and juvenile and not really acknowledging it. I mean hey, as soon as Yuri apologizes to Natsuki in Act 4 for accidentally being dismissive and condescending, Natsuki is pretty much instantly friendly with her again!**

 **That said, I feel like Natsuki wouldn't really know how to react to Yuri's genuine, heartfelt sympathy because it's not something she's used to XD**

 **D'awwww, Natsuki is getting all flustered and embarrassed because she thinks Yuri's gonna judge her for not being able to read well! I really like the idea of Natsuki not being able to read well, in both the regular DDLC-verse and a fantasy AU. Maybe the reason she prefers simpler writing and her poems are a little more childlike is because she struggles with reading and processing more complex things? Not because she's dumb, but because she maybe has something like dyslexia, or her malnourishment stunted her learning and made it harder for her to advance past a certain reading level. Or, in the case of the fantasy AU, she just straight-up doesn't have access to a higher education! And it can be VERY hard to go back and try to learn something later in life that lots of people learned early on. Good thing Yuri is willing to take the time to teach her!**

 **OH NO, THE SHITTY BAR BOYS ARE BACK**

 **WHAT WILL HAPPEN?**

 **Find out next time!**


	4. Part 4

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE PREVIEW PICTURE! IT BELONGS TO Rinmarugames AND PrinceofRedRoses ON DEVIANTART! I also do not own any of the characters. All I own is the storyline.**

* * *

"What do you want?"

Natsuki's voice had all the venom and malice she had been hoping for, but it came out far quieter than she intended. Like a whispered afterthought, something breathed into someone else's ear in a tone too hushed for the subject of the statement to pick up on. A tone too hushed for them to take offense.

"Well, it doesn't look like you're busy working, sweetheart, so I think you have time to talk to us." One of the men leaned up against the table beside her, entirely blocking her view of Yuri.

Natsuki dug her fingers into the table, feeling sweat began to pool on her hand. "Actually, I was helping a customer, so if you don't mind—"

She didn't even finish the statement before a heavy fist banged down on the table. The man between her and Yuri leaned in so close that she could smell every iota of his breath.

"Don't bullshit me," he hissed. "I've been watching you. I've seen you over here just casually chewing the fat and chatting away with this lady like you two are old schoolfriends who grew up together or some shit. And I know damn well you're not on the clock right now…or if you are, whoever your manager is isn't keeping very close tabs on what you're doing. So why not come talk with us instead?" He gave her a wide grin, the way his eyes were boring down into her starting to make her stomach squirm. "We just want to…get to know you a little better. And I know you want to too, beautiful."

He reached out and tried to grab the end of one of her pigtails again. Natsuki rapidly scooted away, only to crash directly into the other burly man.

He smirked at her. "Come on, you don't have to be so shy," he taunted. "I saw how you were looking at us earlier.

Natsuki shrank away. "I really think you misunderstood something—"

"Look, I know your type," the first man interrupted. "Acting mean, playing hard to get because you can't come to terms with your own feelings. Well, that's cute and all, but I _really_ don't have the patience for that. Let's just skip right to the chase, shall we?"

She shook her head rapidly, feeling her eyes begin to sting.

 _Oh god, please don't cry, please don't cry…_

If Yuri didn't already think she was pathetic…

"N—no, that's not…I don't want…"

"Come on." The other man turned and leaned down, pressing up against her and pinning her to the table. She wriggled, trying to slip out from under him, but he held fast. "You don't want a big, strong man to show you a good time?"

"Most of the bitches in here would _kill_ for an opportunity like this," the other added meaningfully.

Natsuki's lip was trembling as she desperately tried to keep her eyes from growing wet. "Please just…please just leave me alone."

The second man looked past his friend to Yuri, as if just realizing she was there. "Don't worry, sweets," he purred. "I'll get you a new server before we get her out of here. Wouldn't want you to not be able to finish your meal."

Through her struggles with the man bearing down on her, Natsuki thought she saw his friend wink at Yuri. She wanted to vomit.

" _You absolutele worthless swine!_ "

Natsuki froze.

It took a moment to register that the furious, roaring voice belonged to the same soft-spoken woman who she had spent the afternoon talking to.

Someone shoved the man on top of Natsuki. Hard. Knocked off-balance, he rolled off of her, and she quickly slid out from under him. The man looked up, eyes full of surprise and anger, as Yuri rapidly pushed Natsuki behind her and used her own body as a shield.

The man began advancing threateningly toward them, but Yuri held her ground.

"What, are you jealous, you dumb bitch?" His voice was a low, threatening growl. "Could've just asked for a turn, but you had to go and make me mad. Who the hell do you think you are?"

Although Yuri's voice was quiet when she spoke, it was strong as steel and laced with poison.

"I think I am Princess Yurimira of Northern Elthyria, first in line for the Elthyrian throne. And if you do not leave my friend alone _now_ , things are about to get very, very ugly for you. That is a promise."

Much to Natsuki's satisfaction she saw both of them wince, but they tried to look unfazed by the comment.

" _Ha!_ " the second man scoffed. "Lady, you think you can walk in here in some fancy clothes and convince any passing idiot that you're someone important? You _wish_ I was that stupid."

The man advancing toward them grabbed a frill of Yuri's skirt and pulled it toward him, examining it and throwing it away in disgust before she had time to react.

"Bet you sweet-talked some noble into giving you this," he hissed. "I know your game. Typical haughty prostitute trying to act like more than she is, as if a bar whore dressing all fancy and refined has any value beyond being some rich duke's wet dream. Princess of Elthyria, my ass! As if wearing some run-of-the-mill showy dress with your tits hanging out will make anyone think you're relevant enough that someone would give a shit if your neck gets snapped in some back alley. No one _actually_ important would give a damn. Now get out of the way and let us have our faerie, or so help me, I'll do it right here on this table."

He took another stride toward her, and Yuri's hands abruptly shot down to several hilts Natsuki hadn't noticed were hanging at her sides. Her fingers moved like rushing water and she whipped her hands back up a heartbeat later, blades sharper and longer than a butcher's knife sticking out between each of her fingers.

The man winced, letting out a grunt of surprise. Even Natsuki yelped and jumped back. _Who just…carries around that many knives? And_ that _subtly?!_

She supposed it made sense for a princess to have weapons, traveling places alone with a name to carry enough importance to put enemies on her trail (not that it was apparently a name widely-known enough to drive off the two boneheads bothering them right now, much to Natsuki's chagrin). And it wasn't as if the elves were typically known to be…understated with their weapons.

Nonetheless, Natsuki found she hadn't been expecting something of _this_ level.

 _Damn it, stop thinking that's hot, Natsuki!_ she scolded herself.

The hilt on them was a vivid dark purple with intricately carved designs and symbols, while the blades themselves seemed to be emanating a soft amethyst glow and humming with energy. Tiny lilac sparks and crackles of lightning fizzed around them, as if the knives themselves were made out of some kind of condensed electricity.

She took a threatening step toward the man, her eyes starting to glow like sunlight on steel. He stubbornly held his ground at first, but finally backed nervously away.

Something akin to violet fog began to swim out of the knife handles, swathing Yuri in a foreboding dark purple cloud. Natsuki felt the air around her grow suddenly chilled, with tiny cold water droplets floating and sticking to her skin like a fall rainstorm was fast approaching. Natsuki wasn't sure if it was from a rush of air from the fog or if Yuri was casting a spell on herself to make herself look more imposing, but her long purple hair had started to thrash and billow behind her in an invisible wind.

"If you _ever_ lay a finger on my friend Natsuki again, I swear by every power I know that I will slice you to pieces and gut you like a fish."

Yuri's voice boomed and reverberated around the tavern like a crack of thunder. Many patrons turned to stare, shrinking back fearfully in their seats.

"You're…you're bluffing," the man growled, although his voice was unmistakably shaking. "N-not hard to use a few beginner's charms to make yourself look scarier. All just…just cheap arcane tricks."

The many customers of the tavern, looking on silently in a mixture of horror and awe, seemed to disagree.

The other man pulled at his friend's sleeve slightly, looking notably more unnerved. "Hey, maybe we should—"

"NO! Shut up!" the first man turned and barked. "You think I'm gonna let this psychotic bitch go around thinking she can—"

He abruptly trailed off. The fog swirled into a spinning cloud above Yuri as she continued to advance on the man. The knife blades continued buzzing with energy, humming and sizzling with what Natsuki could only imagine was some kind of dark magic.

She held a hand out, and a bolt of white-hot energy abruptly shot out of the middle blade, hitting the burly man square in the chest. He gasped out, clutching his chest and stumbling backwards.

"Do you believe me now?" she hissed.

The man forced himself to look her in the eyes, even though his whole body was shaking. "I-I'm not scared o-of you!"

Yuri suddenly surged forward, and the man screamed. The next couple of seconds were a blur, but when she pulled away, his arm was covered in blood, whatever magic that was laced into her knives seeming to have seared and blackened the wounds around the edges.

"Oh, but you should be," she said quietly. "I'm not the type you can just go around making death threats to."

He cast a fearful look at his arm, and then up at Yuri. His companion, eyes now wide with terror, hissed something into his ear, and the man backed slowly away.

"You…you _witch!_ " he shrieked. Yuri took another step toward him, fog cloud seeming to swirl faster above her and energy crackling around her knives harder and wider…more restless and more eager, almost. Without another word, the two men turned and high-tailed out of the tavern as fast as they could go, practically shoving a couple tables and customers out of the way in the process.

As soon as they were completely out the door, Yuri smoothly slipped her knives back into their sheaths at her sides and the purple hurricane-looking cloud above her rapidly dissipated, the tavern air returning to its usual slightly-warm temperature. She sat down as though nothing had happened, although Natsuki thought she caught a glimpse of a tiny smirk dancing across her stone-solemn face.

Natsuki found herself looking back and forth between Yuri and where the two men had disappeared out of the door, utterly lost for words. She opened her mouth to speak a few times, but all that came out were awkward splutters and false starts.

"Wow," she managed to breathe out finally, once she had collected her thoughts. "That was…incredible."

Yuri looked away, running her fingers through some of the hair around her face. Her face was swimming with guilt instead of being proud about her impressive feat, which Natsuki would have expected.

"I—I'm sorry I didn't step in sooner," she stammered. "I just…I couldn't believe that there are people out there as horrible as that. I suppose I was in shock, and it prevented me from acting when I should have."

Natsuki gave her a wry smile. "I guess someone as important as you doesn't get sexually harassed very often, huh?"

"W—well, with my status, I do have to admit that I have not experienced such treatment very often," Yuri said, sounding almost ashamed. "But that does not mean I can't feel for those who do. _No one_ deserves something like that. You least of all!"

Her eyes burned with anger as she said it, her soft voice becoming laced with a quiet, fierce rage. Her hand started to stray down to her belt again, as if preparing to pull all of her knives out for round 2. Yuri didn't look it, but she was a fighter.

Natsuki shivered in delight, having to stop herself from giggling giddily. Never in her life did she recall a time when she had been more turned on than she was right now.

Yuri sighed, the guilt returning to her gaze. "I-I was so shocked that I just watched, and th-they were—they were about to—well, who knows what they were about to do? I should never have let them get that far with you, and I'm sorry."

"Are you _kidding?_ " Natsuki scoffed, laughing good-naturedly. "That was the most _awesome_ thing I've ever seen! Who cares if you didn't get on them right away? I think you scared them off for _good!_ "

"I certainly hope so." Yuri's eyes darkened. "I meant what I said, you know. I'll _flay_ them if they ever come near you again."

 _Oh, my god. She's killing me._

Not that Yuri would know, but Natsuki had always had a thing for overprotective women. But Yuri seriously needed to stop being so hot before Natsuki got an orgasm in public or something else gross.

"That was seriously so awesome." Natsuki grinned widely. She probably looked like a complete dorky idiot, but at this point, she really didn't care. "I don't think I've ever had anyone defend me like that. Most people don't have the balls to stand up to those kinds of guys when they're bothering me. Sometimes not even me, unfortunately…" She stared at the ground, embarrassed.

"Then they're cowards, Natsuki." Yuri put a hand on her shoulder and fixed her with a stern gaze when she looked up. "I stood up for you because it was the right thing to do for anyone being treated with such blatant impertinence, and also because you're my friend."

"I'm…your friend?" Natsuki blushed deeply. "Come on Yuri, we've only known each other an afternoon…"

"Yes, and I've felt more at ease opening up to you than I have to servants back at my castle who I've known for years," she replied evenly. "Or travel companions who I knew for months. Time means nothing, Natsuki. What matters is the connection that is formed in that time."

Natsuki's face was on fire, and she was fairly certain her cheeks were the same color as her hair now. "Uh-um, well, it's just—I'm not really used to _having_ that many friends, n-not that it's a bad thing or anything! I just—well, what I mean is that it feels a bit strange, but ah…I think I like it."

She cut herself off quickly before she could fall back into the hole she had dug herself, one which she had just barely managed to clamber out of.

To her relief, Yuri seemed to take the awkward comment in good humor, merely chuckling.

"Well, I hope it will become less strange to you, because someone like you deserves to have a lot of friends."

"Th—thank you." Natsuki felt her cheeks turn an even deeper shade of red. "And thank you again for scaring those guys off. I honestly don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't been there to help me. I just completely froze up…"

She made a face, body tensing with shame.

 _Stupid, stupid. You're the toughest half-faerie in Shimmercross, and you couldn't even get a couple of brainless thugs to leave you alone. Yuri probably thinks you're a total weakling wimp now._

"Hey, don't fret about it." The gentle tone of Yuri's voice seemed to prove her wrong. "We all have moments of panic and fear sometimes, when we're not at our greatest. That's when our friends are there to help pick us back up and get us back at our best again." Yuri laughed uneasily. "I mean…I know _I'm_ not always the bravest, and sometimes the world can be terrifying to me. But something about seeing them talk to you like that…" Yuri scowled. "It brought out a ferocity in me that I didn't even know was there."

"Did it ever!" Natsuki grinned again, the humiliation in her moment of weakness temporarily forgotten. "I don't think I've ever seen someone run out of a tavern that fast."

"Well, that's certainly the hope!"

"I'm so happy." Natsuki's grin widened. "If I looked back to this morning, never did I think I'd see those two assholes fleeing in terror. That made my month. You're amazing!"

 _Okay, stop gushing, idiot. You're word-vomiting like a hyper 5-year-old._

Yuri bashfully tried to hide in her hair, a deep blush darkening her pale cheeks. "Th—thank you. I'm glad I could help."

Well, at least Yuri seemed more gratified by the praise than perturbed by how rambly and undignified it was. _Somehow, I'm not fucking this up…who knew?_

Natsuki's eyes trailed over to the half-eaten plates of chicken and bread on the table, and Yuri's gaze followed. The elf girl let out a sudden cry of alarm, as if just realizing something.

"O—oh! I should probably get going." She gave Natsuki a guilty look. "I _do_ have the rest of the town to explore before it gets dark. And I suppose you need to get back to work. I've probably kept you for far too long!"

"No, no, of course not!" Natsuki shook her head vigorously. "My friend has been covering me. But I guess…"

She trailed off.

 _I guess I_ should _go back and help out._

She let out a disappointed puff of air. Something about the prospect of the elf princess going along her merry way while Natsuki went back to working like normal made her entire body deflate.

She looked back to the food, and she felt herself sagging as she recalled something about it that Yuri had said earlier.

"Hey, Yuri…"

"Mmm?" The beautiful elf girl looked at her expectantly, and she took a breath.

"You said you always order a lot of food so you can have some for when you hit the road. Does that mean you're going to be leaving town soon? And keep traveling around? Because…well, that sounds super awesome and interesting and all, and I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to stay in this dumpy town very long, but I dunno…I just thought…"

She trailed off, unsure what she was trying to say. Why would it bother her so much that some cool lady she _just met_ and honestly _barely knew_ was moving along? Hell, _most_ of the out-of-towners who stopped in the tavern were just passing through for a day or two. This wasn't anything unusual.

Yuri laughed lightly, her tone soft and cheerful enough that it started to put Natsuki's oddly-agitated mind at ease for some reason.

"Oh, Natsuki! I'm not planning on packing up and leaving just yet. Who would help you learn to read the complex and intricate works I enjoy so much if not me?"

Natsuki stared at her in disbelief. "You mean…you would really…"

"Of course!" Yuri smiled kindly. "That's what I was trying to say before we were…so _rudely_ interrupted. I'd be happy to teach you how to read. W—well, read better, anyway! Not that you can't read at all, I know you can, I just thought maybe you would like it if you—well, I just think it would be a shame if you couldn't understand some of the greatest works of literature, _especially_ from the faerie realm, and I—"

"Yuri." Natsuki put a reassuring hand on the other girl's arm. "It's okay. I know what you mean."

"Okay, I just…" Yuri's face flushed with embarrassment. "I didn't want it to come across like I'd insulted you! I understand that what I said could come across as supercilious or condescending or unkind—"

"Yuri, come on." Natsuki rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "It's seriously fine. I know you didn't mean it that way."

"O—okay." The elven girl still looked a little uneasy, but smiled in relief.

"But you're…" Natsuki bit her lip nervously. "You're really staying?"

"I am!" Yuri reached over and patted Natsuki on the top of her head, making even more heat rush to her cheeks. "I like you, Natsuki. I'm not going anywhere."

Natsuki wanted to triumphantly pump her fist in the air, but she refrained. _Come on, just act like it's no big deal. How embarrassing would it be if she knew you were drooling over her_ already _? Idiot._

Yuri stood up, beginning to gather up some of the leftover bread.

"So!" she said, her voice brightening up. "Can I see you the same time tomorrow?"

"Of course you can, Yuri!" Natsuki beamed. "I'll be here!"

"Wonderful!" Yuri pulled a pouch of coins off of her belt. She opened it and shuffled through it for a few moments before pouring out a few gold coins about equivalent to the cost of the meal, in addition to what Natsuki noticed was a _very_ generous tip. She picked up the last of her bread before heading for the door, shooting Natsuki one last smile and wave.

"Goodbye, Natsuki! It was lovely meeting you!"

"Y—you too!"

As Yuri closed the tavern door behind her, Natsuki melted down onto the wooden tabletop, letting out a sigh.

 _What. A. Woman!_

With her thoughts continually racing in circles around the purple-haired princess, she slid down much further onto the table than she intended. Her feet suddenly lost contact with the ground, and she squeaked as her legs flew up behind her and exposed the entirety of the underside of her skirt to the (thankfully now-empty) bar.

"So."

The abrupt voice in her ear caused her to let out an even louder yelp, flailing briefly before rolling over onto her back. She scrambled to her feet, glaring at her now-laughing friend.

"Dammit, Sayori!"

"You seemed to be having fun over there," Sayori teased.

"I was…" Natsuki grinned stupidly.

"And so was she."

"Uh-huuuuh." The stupid grin only widened.

"So when's the wedding?"

" _Sayori!_ " The lovestruck grin quickly morphed into a glare as her friend keeled over laughing. "I'm going to _smack_ you!"

"Okay, okay, so maybe not for a while," Sayori managed to get out between giggles.

Natsuki crossed her arms. "She's…she's coming back tomorrow," she said, almost defensively.

"Whoaaaaah!" Sayori's eyes widened, and she gave her a congratulatory swat on the shoulder. "You're doing great, Lover Girl!"

" _Stop it._ " Natsuki didn't think her face could feel any more red-hot today.

"Okay, okay, _fine_." Sayori smirked. "But I think you've had _plenty_ of fun for one day. Now come and help me with the bar, will you? It's almost time for dinner rush!"

Natsuki smiled at her friend. "All right, all right, fair enough. Your wish is my command, Sayori."

She cast one last glance at the door as Sayori dragged her away by the arm, feeling a warm smile linger on her lips.

Today had, rest assured, vastly exceeded her expectations.

* * *

 **Hahahaha hey guys, I'm not dead!**

 **Well, not on the OUTSIDE, anyhow**

 **Lel, I was planning on getting the final part of this story in the next couple months after I submitted the third part—like I actually had finished writing it and everything, just needed to edit—but then the depression hit and oh boy, did my life turn into a CLUSTERFUCK**

 **A sincere apology to all of my regular followers—I took quite a hefty hiatus from fanfic (always intended to be temporary, don't worry!) due to the general chaos of being about to graduate college and having all of jack shit sorted out, and generally every conceivable thing in my personal life starting to fall apart. I will be back permanently when I have something resembling a secure future and, thus, have gotten a handle on the depression, among other things. Until then, my story postings and updates might be on the irregular side. BUT I love writing fanfic just as much as I always have, and I'm hoping that with a now-complete college degree and ideally a reasonably-reliable 9 to 5 in my future, my life will pick up somewhat of a consistent routine (which honestly does more wonders for my depression than you can ever imagine) and I can pretty regularly set aside some time in the evenings and on weekends to write.**

 **ANYWAYS**

 **FUCK YEAH, YOU FUCK EM UP WITH THOSE LIGHTNING KNIVES, YURI**

 **(Probably lowkey made her too OP in this, but at this point I've just kind of accepted that I'm writing DnD nonsense here mainly for my own gratification XD)**

 **We had a cleric of the storm goddess Zeboim in my last campaign, and I kinda liked the idea of Yuri having some sort of chaotic storm/lightning magic. Figured it fit pretty well with her personality, and the idea of storms also goes pretty nicely with the dark purple color motif. Also lightning-knives. Because I can. FIGHT ME.**

 **Lmao I had to go back and cut a lot of parts out of the very last scene because I realized half of Yuri's dialogue was way too soapbox-y and ham-fisted and I'm like nah, I don't really need to beat people over the head with how much creepy guys harassing women in bars suck. I guess I was trying to make a point and then got kinda carried away with it, whoops ^^; Lmao but seriously, half of Yuri's dialogue sounded like she was delivering life lessons at the end of some episode of a kid's TV show. "NOW REMEMBER KIDS, FRIENDSHIP AND COURAGE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS!" Then again, half of Yuri's character is being lowkey pretentious and condescending and kinda morally self-righteous sometimes (although that's admittedly more Monika's gig), so how out-of-character is it, really? XD**

 **My cat made a glorious contribution to this story by walking over my keyboard. Her input is preserved in the original document, though I decided to remove it from the final draft of the story as I felt it disrupted the flow slightly. However, I believe it is too deep and insightful not to share, so I will copy and paste it here:**

 **vvvvvvffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff**

 **And YAY, YURI'S TEACHIN OUR GORL TO READ**

 **BUT THEN GETTING ALL EMBARRASSED ABOUT IT WORRYING SHE'S ACCIDENTALLY BEING AN ASSHOLE AND EVERYONE'S GONNA HATE HER**

 **CLASSIC YURI**

 **And of course I had to add in Sayori being her delightful trolly self at the end because how could I not XD**

 **Well, I hope y'all enjoyed The Princess and the Barmaid, the weird little story that came from a DnD obsession and an online dress-up game! I may or may not do more dress-up-game-inspired Natsuri one-shots, or more one-shots in this particular Princess and Barmaid AU. Idk though, it really depends on how I'm feeling and if I can get my personal life shit together enough to make a more definitive commitment to fanfiction. See y'all hopefully soon!**


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